4/04/2010

Thoughts On A Sunday

Deb, BeezleBub, and I headed down to the WP In-Laws today for a family Easter gathering. Some of the New York members of Deb's family were there as well, which was great as we hadn't seen them since some time last summer.

The trip down and back wasn't quite as pleasant as it might have been as we took the trust Ford F-150 rather than the Intrepid. The three of us crammed in the cab made for tight quarters.

In case you're wondering why we took the truck you'll have to ask BeezleBub. He said the WP Dad-in-Law said he'd be sending something back with us and that we'd need the truck. He did indeed send something back, but it sure as heck didn't need the truck seeing as what he gave us was a 12-pack of peach Fresca (only available in the Keene, NH area as far as we've been able to find out), and a quart of maple syrup he made last month.

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You know it's getting bad for Obama when the Washington Post is beating up on him for his lengthy non-teleprompter responses to questions asked during his Let's Sell ObamaCare To The Rubes tour.

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Skip Murphy is all over Carol Shea-Porter (D – NH1) and her most recent town hall meeting in Laconia, New Hampshire. Video he shot at the meeting shows how little she thinks of many of her constituents, dissembling during a response to a Blue Star Mother, 'filibustering' time away from those of her constituents having had the audacity to ask questions she didn't want to answer, blaming Bush for the present administration's hard left turn towards socialism, and disparaging the idea that a member of the House of Representatives should represent the will of the people.

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Bogie is getting ready for additional census training in preparation for going out and counting those who haven't returned their census forms.

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Even folks in Europe understand the damage President Obama is doing to America, which will leave it weaker economically and militarily. They also understand it may take decades to repair the damage Obama's imperial hubris is inflicting upon America.

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It appears Vermont has a real problem with their education system, with increased staffing levels and falling enrollment. Last year's student/teacher ratio was 10.6:1 and student/teacher's aide ratio of 20.7:1. If staffing remains at 2009 levels, the ratios will fall to 10.3:1 and 20.1:1 respectively by 2011, with an over all student/staff ration of 4.6:1. The staffing costs are unsustainable as will been placing an ever greater burden on the taxpayers by 2012. What makes it worse is that student performance hasn't improved, meaning the money isn't being well spent and the taxpayers (and parents) aren't getting their money's worth.

This problem isn't unique to Vermont as many states are seeing the same thing. People have got to get it into their heads that more money and more staff does not automatically equate to better education for our kids.

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I find it ironic that Henry Waxman (D – CA) doesn't understand the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles or Securities and Exchange Commission regulations, particularly the ones that require companies to account for changes in laws and regulations that affect their costs and tax status as soon as they become aware of them.

His demand for explanations from companies that reported major negative effects due to provisions within ObamaCare betray his ignorance, both of the aforementioned requirements and the changes wrought by ObamaCare.

Hayek's insight into economics and regulation is often called "The Knowledge Problem," and it is a very powerful notion. But recent events suggest that it's not just the economy that regulators don't understand well enough -- it's also their own regulations.

This became apparent when various large businesses responded to the enactment of ObamaCare by taking accounting steps to reflect tax changes brought about by the new health care legislation. The additional costs created by ObamaCare, conveniently enough, weren't going to strike until later, after the November elections.

They were also bad publicity for ObamaCare, and they seem to have come as an unpleasant shock to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who immediately scheduled congressional hearings for April 21, demanding that the chief executive officers of AT&T, John Deere, and Caterpillar, among others, come and explain themselves.

Call it yet another example of the Law of Unintended Consequences coming back to bite clueless legislators in the ass.

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And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the weather has been summer-like, the water is still too cold, and thoughts snow have faded from our thoughts.